WARGAME RULES 20mm Scale Russo-German War c. 1943

WARGAME RULES 20mm Scale Russo-German War c. 1943 Mike Adams December 2001 Ver 3 Based on Battle! by Charles Grant Setup The setup is determined by the scenario being played. Troops in cover may begin the game hidden. In this case, they do not need to be placed on the table, but their positions should be marked on a sketch map of the battlefield. See Visibility and Spotting Hidden Troops. Sequence of Play Play is alternate between players. First turn is determined by the scenario. In his/her turn, a player may move or fire (not both) with each vehicle, crewed weapon or infantry section, or make some special action like unlimbering towed weapons, as specified below. Infantry sections may alternatively close assault any enemy within normal move distance. An infantry section is assumed to be approximately 8 men, but can be split into two 4-man squads. The scale is such that a section actually represents a platoon of real men. Infantrymen in a section or squad should stay within ½ of each other. Fire may not be split, except among weapons of different type, e.g. anti-tank weapons in an infantry section may be fired at tank targets while the small arms are fired at infantry targets. A tank may only fire one weapon at a time. Unless specially noted, tanks, half-tracks and armoured cars are assumed to mount forward-firing machine-guns which count as LMGs in the rules. Movement Infantry Movement Terrain Movement On roads 4 Cross-country 3 Obstacles and Difficult Terrain Infantry take one turn to cross obstacles, and move 2 across difficult terrain. Infantry in Snow Terrain Infantry move over roads as normal, but count cross-country as difficult terrain. Crewed Weapons Mortars and HMGs take one turn to set up for firing, and one turn to dismantle. Otherwise, they can be manhandled by infantry at the usual movement rates. LMGs move and can be set up and dismantled without any penalties. Crewed anti-tank guns can change their direction of fire, but otherwise cannot move (apart from limbering and unlimbering, for which see below). Changing direction counts as movement so the weapon cannot fire in the same turn. Infantry Moving and Firing in Buildings In buildings sectioned into separate rooms, infantry can be positioned loosely in a room. Assume that all infantry in a room 1 of 8 16/03/2012 12:29

2 of 8 16/03/2012 12:29 can shoot out of any side with windows or doors (and be shot at). In larger buildings without rooms, infantry need to be positioned against a particular wall. Assume that troops can move in or out of any building wall with doors or windows, but if there are windows only then this counts as an obstacle. Vehicle Movement Consult the following table for the maximum distance that a vehicle can move in one turn. Vehicle On roads Cross-country Lorries and other wheeled 24 6 vehicles Half-tracks 15 8 Fast tanks: T34, SU-85, Panther, Jagdpanther Majority tanks: KV-1, Stug III, PzIV, Tiger 15 8 12 6 Traversing a tank turret by upto 45 degrees counts as free movement and does not stop the tank firing. However, traversing a turret by greater than 45 degrees, or any movement of the vehicle itself, prevents firing in the same turn. Exception: The Tiger is a very heavy tank with a slow turret traverse. It can only traverse its turret by upto 22½ degrees as free movement, not 45 degrees. Also, it is limited to a maximum of 90 degrees of traverse in one turn. Ditching, Obstacles and Difficult Terrain Tanks and half-tracks moving across difficult terrain or crossing obstacles must dice for ditching. In other respects, they move across this terrain with no penalty. They ditch, i.e. become permanently stuck, on a score of 1 on 1D6. Lorries and other wheeled vehicles cannot cross difficult terrain or obstacles. Tank traps are impassable to all vehicles. They may only be destroyed by a direct HE hit from a gun of calibre 75mm or greater. One hit will do enough damage to create a hole the width of one vehicle. Vehicles in Snow Terrain Snow terrain has no effect on tracked vehicles. Wheeled vehicles move at half speed on roads and move at infantry speed cross-country, i.e. 2. Towing, Limbering and Unlimbering Towing has no effect on vehicle movement. Limbering or unlimbering takes 2 turns with no other activity. Horse Tows Some guns may be pulled by horse-drawn limbers. These move at the speed of normal infantry, including in snow, but otherwise count as if wheeled vehicles, i.e. they cannot cross obstacles or difficult terrain. If fired on, count each horse as if it were an infantryman and count the limber as if it were a softskin wheeled vehicle. If either a horse is killed or the limber is damaged, the entire horse tow is assumed destroyed. Infantry Riding In or On Vehicles Infantry can ride tanks at 4 men per tank, but not if the tank crosses difficult terrain or obstacles. The tank may only fire its machine-gun while it is carrying passengers. It takes one turn with no other activity for infantry to get on or off the tank. The tank must remain stationary, but can fire its machine-gun. If the tank is hit, the men may become casualties just as if it were an open-topped vehicle (see below). Infantry can ride in lorries or half-tracks at 8 men per vehicle (i.e. one infantry section). A heavy weapon and its crew counts as 4 men (e.g. HMG, mortar). It takes one turn with no other activity for an infantry section to embark or disembark a lorry or half-track.

3 of 8 16/03/2012 12:29 If any vehicle carrying passengers is destroyed, all of the passengers are killed automatically. If an open-topped vehicle is damaged but not destroyed, roll for each passenger. They are killed on a 4+ on 1D6. Lorries, half-tracks and tanks carrying tank riders all count as open-topped. Visibilty and Spotting Hidden Troops All troops on the battlefield are assumed to be visible and may be fired upon, unless they began the game hidden, or they are completely obscured by intervening terrain such as a hill, wood or village. Hidden troops become visible in the following circumstances: They fire They move out of cover Enemy approaches within spotting distance Spotting distance is: Spotters Distance Normal spotting distance 12 Command elements and FOOs 24 Tank commanders out of their hatches 24 Closed-up tanks 0 If the spotters are in moving vehicles, these distances are halved. Tank commanders are assumed to be out of their hatches until the shooting starts, when they will close up. Once closed up, they cannot spot hidden enemy unless they make contact. If hidden enemy are spotted, the enemy whereabouts is assumed to be automatically communicated to all friendly units within line-of-sight, including tanks. The enemy remains hidden to other friendly units, until they either spot the enemy themselves, or else they move within line-of-sight of friendly units who do know the enemy whereabouts. Firing Troops may only fire on targets they can see, i.e. they are not hidden to them nor completely obscured by intervening terrain, and are within a 45 degree arc of straight ahead (i.e. ± 22½ degrees). However, troops with indirect fire weapons may fire on enemy hidden to them, or enemy obscured by intervening terrain, if directed by friends for whom the enemy is not hidden and is visible. See Calling Down Fire. Infantrymen may shoot through other infantrymen in the same section. Calling Down Fire Indirect fire may be called down on a target by an infantry unit which is not under fire and for which the target is not hidden and is visible. The directing unit may not make any other action while directing fire. If the firers are within line-of-sight of the directing unit, then communication is assumed to be automatic. Otherwise, fire may only be directed by either command elements or dedicated FOOs (having radio equipment) and with firers who are either themselves radio-equipped, or off-table artillery. Firers are assumed to count as radio-equipped if they are in contact with another command element. To direct fire using radio, every turn the player must roll for successful communication, needing 3+ on 1D6, except needing 4+ on the first turn directing a new target (even if the firers are the same). Note if this roll is failed, the radio unit does not count as directing fire and may therefore move or make other actions. Indirect fire is only possible to on-table mortars or off-table artillery. Off-table artillery may only be directed by command elements and dedicated FOOs using radio. In cases of limited availability, this can be simulated by reducing the score needed for successful communication by 1 or 2. Preliminary barrages, pre-planned barrages and creeping barrages should be considered as special cases to be detailed in the scenario being played.

4 of 8 16/03/2012 12:29 Infantry Small Arms Weapons Consult the table below for to-hit scores required on 1D6. For SMG and rifles these are per firer, for LMGs and HMGs these are per target within the fire corridor. The fire corridor is a 2 wide rectangle centred on the firing model and stretching out to the limit of the weapon s range. Weapon\To-hit upto 4 upto 8 upto 12 upto 16 upto 20 upto 24 SMG 3+ - - - - - Rifle 4+ 5+ 6+ - - - LMG 3+ 4+ 5+ 6+ - - HMG 3+ 4+ 4+ 5+ 6+ - Anti-Tank Guns Consult the table below for the to-hit scores required on 2D6. Note the target must be within the maximum effective range for the anti-tank weapon (see the Vehicle and Anti-Tank Gun Reference Table at the back of the rules). All range measurements should be made from the breech end of the barrel to the front of target vehicles. Add +1 on the to-hit roll for every turn firing at the same target, if both firer and target are stationary. Subtract 1 if firing at a moving target. Weapon\To-hit upto 5 upto 10 upto 20 upto 30 Upto 40 All anti-tank 5+ 6+ 7+ 8+ 9+ If a hit has been achieved, then roll 2D6, add the firing weapon s Strike Value and compare with the target s Armour Value to determine if the target is penetrated and damaged. The Strike Values and Armour Values for different vehicles and guns are listed in the Vehicle and Anti-Tank Gun Reference Table. The Armour Value is modified according to the following circumstances: Factor Front armour Rear armour Angle of attack <45 degrees Modifier +1 AV -1 AV +1 AV If the Armour Value is equalled, the target is damaged. If the Armour Value is exceeded, the target is destroyed. Damaged vehicles roll 1D6 and consult the following table to determine the effect of the damage. Score Damage Game Effect 1 Crew are stunned Cannot make any action next turn 2 Wheels and tracks hit Vehicle is permanently immobilised 3 Wheels and tracks hit Vehicle is permanently immobilised 4 Turret traverse mechanism Turret cannot be traversed destroyed 5 Gunner and commander are killed Vehicle may only make move actions 6 Entire crew killed Vehicle effectively out-of-action Note if a turret traverse mechanism destroyed result is rolled, but the vehicle does not have a turret, then assaultguns/tank-destroyers ignore the result but others must re-roll. Infantry Anti-Tank Weapons Infantry shooting at tanks with Bazooka-type weapons use the procedure for anti-tank weapons. Consult the following table for the Strike Values of these weapons and their maximum effective ranges. Weapon\To-hit upto 4 upto 8 AT rifle SV 6 SV 5

5 of 8 16/03/2012 12:29 Panzerfaust SV 7 SV 6 Aiming for The Tracks Any anti-tank weapon firing at a target from the side at less than 10 range may choose to aim at the wheels and tracks to immobilise the vehicle rather than trying to penetrate the hull or turret armour. In this case the weapon gets +2 to its effective Strike Value, but all hits must roll on the damage table with a 1 modifier, even hits which would normally destroy the vehicle. If a 1 is rolled on the damage table, the shot has no effect. The benefits of Aiming for The Tracks is negated if the target vehicle is fitted with schürtzen protective plates. Mortars and Other Indirect Fire Weapons Mortars have the following maximum range: Mortar Range Light mortar 24 Medium mortar 48 Heavy mortar 120 All mortars have a minimum range of 6. Off-table artillery have range to anywhere on the battlefield. For every new target the range must first be found with ranging shots. The firing player must roll 5+ on 1D6 to range the target, improving to 4+ in subsequent turns. Once ranged, D6 scatter dice are used to determine the fall of each shot. All infantry under the shell blast template are hit on a 3+ on 1D6, including infantry inside lorries or other vehicles counting as open-topped. All vehicles under the template are hit automatically. Light mortar fire has no effect on the vehicles themselves, medium mortars can damage or destroy lorries and other soft-skinned vehicles only, heavy mortars and all artillery can damage or destroy any type of vehicle. Roll 1D6 for each vehicle hit by mortar or artillery fire and consult the table below for effect. For damaged vehicles, roll on the same damage table as for hits from anti-tank guns. Vehicle No Effect Damaged Destroyed Lorries and other 1-2 3-4 5-6 soft-skinned vehicles Half-tracks and armoured 1-3 4-5 6 cars Tanks 1-4 5 6 - Light mortars use a shell blast template of 2 diameter, artillery uses a template of 4 diameter, all others use a template of 3 diameter. Battery Fire Where a battery of more than one artillery gun or mortar fires at the same target, either fire can be concentrated at the same point, or else fire can be spread along a line perpendicular to the direction of fire. In this latter case, use the normal scatter mechanism above but change the point of aim for each gun in the battery. The first shot is at the target specified, the second shot is aimed one blast template s width to the right of this, the third shot one blast template s width to the left, the fourth shot two blast template s width to the right, and so on. Direct Fire High Explosive Tanks and anti-tank guns, except dedicated tank-destroyers, can elect to fire High Explosive shells against infantry, instead of Armour Piercing shells. In this case, roll to hit as for anti-tank guns but use the indirect fire shell blast template and damage effect table above. Guns of calibre between 75mm and 88mm (inclusive) count equivalent to a medium mortar. Guns of smaller calibre count as equivalent to a light mortar. Guns of higher calibre count equivalent to artillery. Dedicated tank-destroyers are assumed to only carry Armour Piercing shells and therefore may not use direct fire HE. Conversely, some tanks and field guns are dedicated to the HE infantry support role. They are assumed to only carry High Explosive shells and may not fire against tanks.

6 of 8 16/03/2012 12:29 Rate of Fire For simplicity, all weapons firing HE can fire only once per turn but all have the same lethality. However, crewed anti-tank guns (i.e. not mounted in a vehicle) of less than 75mm calibre used in an anti-tank role may fire twice per turn. They must fire at the same target. Cover Saves Any vehicle behind hard cover, or any man in or behind hard or soft cover, can make a cover saving roll to negate any hit. Consult the table below for the score to be equalled or beaten on 1D6. Hard cover implies a stone wall or similar, soft cover implies a bush, tree or similar, or a fold in the ground. Low stone walls can only provide hard cover to low-profile tanks such as the Stug III. Soft cover can also mean partial hard cover, e.g. field and anti-tank gun crews can count their gun as soft cover if fired on from the front. Likewise, tank riders can count tank turrets as soft cover if fired on from the front. Cover Save against Small Arms Save against AT or HE Soft cover 5+ - Hard cover 2+ 5+ Removing Casualties Where an infantry section takes casualties, if it is important to determine who is a casualty and who is not, do so by randomisation (e.g. count clockwise from one man using 1D6 or 2D6). As a general rule, assume that LMGs, Panzerfaust, AT rifles, rifles and SMGs can be picked up and used by survivors if the section takes casualties from small arms fire, but not if they take casualties from HE, i.e. if under small arms fire the player can choose the casualties, but if under HE fire use randomisation. Casualties Among Gun Crews Gun crews which suffer any casualties may still fire, but at half the normal rate, so long as there are at least two crew remaining. For most weapons this means that they can fire every other turn. This rule applies not only to anti-tank gun crews but to all crewed weapons, including LMGs. Firing on Troops in Buildings Troops inside buildings count as behind hard cover when fired on by direct fire weapons. There are no damage tables for inflicting casualties on troops inside buildings from indirect fire weapons, nor for reducing the building itself with HE fire. However, indirect HE fire may be directed at buildings because troops inside still count as under HE fire if the building is hit, i.e. they are pinned. Close Assault Infantry can assault enemy infantry who are within a normal move distance, instead of moving or firing. So long as one member of the section or squad makes contact, it is assumed that all members of the opposing units take part in the assault. Enemy who are assaulted get one free turn of firing on the attackers at close range (<4 ) as they charge in. If the attackers have insufficient survivors to complete the assault, they retire back to their start position. This fire may only be with small arms, including vehicle-mounted machine-guns, and only if the firers are eligible to fire (e.g. not under HE fire). To resolve a close assault, each player uses 1D6 for every 4 rifle-armed infantry (rounding down) and 1D6 for every SMG-armed infantry or assault specialist. Players roll and compare highest scores. The highest scorer in each dice pair makes one kill on the enemy. Unpaired dice need to roll 2+. The loser, who suffers more casualties, surrenders. In a draw, immediately resolve another round of close assault and continue until there is a result. If prisoners are taken, one man per four prisoners must be detailed to guard them. The prisoners and their guards can take no further part in the battle and may be removed from the table.

7 of 8 16/03/2012 12:29 Infantry Close Assaulting Vehicles Any infantry section of more than 4 men may assault any type of vehicle. Soft-skinned vehicles, armoured cars and half-tracks are attacked with grenades and small arms. A hit is automatic. Roll for effect as if the vehicle was hit from a medium mortar. Tanks may only be attacked rom the side or rear, primarily by detonating grenade bundles in the wheels and tracks. A score of 5+ is needed on 1D6 to cause damage. If successful, roll on the vehicle damage table with a 1 modifier. Infantry assaulting open-topped vehicles that have enemy infantry embarked in fact assault the infantry, ignoring the vehicle. Resolve the assault as normal, except the attackers get 1 extra D6 to represent the advantages of lobbing grenades inside the vehicle. If the attackers win, the vehicle is assumed to be permanently immobilised. Command and Control Pinning Infantry which are under fire and in cover cannot leave cover except to move to other cover with at least the same protection, unless accompanied by an officer. Infantry under HE fire who can move in one turn to cover giving better protection, must do so. Furthermore, any troops under HE fire (including tanks) cannot fire weapons. Note that troops inside a building, which counts as hard cover, may be able to improve their cover if attacked by direct fire HE by leaving the building on the side away from the enemy fire, because the building will block line-of-sight to the firers. If troops are forced to move to better cover because of coming under HE fire, they may not move back in the following turn. Force Morale Victory conditions should be set by the scenario being played. However, in most cases forces suffering greater than 50% casualties in men and machines should withdraw from combat. Elite Units Units designated as elite get +1 to hit and always count as officer-led.

8 of 8 16/03/2012 12:29 Vehicle and Anti-Tank Gun Reference Table Vehicle Gun Armour upto upto upto upto upto upto Calibre Value 10 20 30 40 50 60 T-34/76 76 mm 14 8 7 5 4 - - T-34/85 85 mm 14 11 9 8 6 4 - SU-85 85 mm 14 11 9 8 6 4 - KV-1 76 mm 15 8 7 5 4 - - Lee/Grant 75 mm/ 12 7/3 6/2 5/1 4/- - - 37 mm Stug III 75 mm 13 7 6 5 4 - - Pz III 50 mm 13 7 5 4 - - - Pz IV 75 mm 14 7/4 6/2 5/1 4/- - - Tiger I 88 mm 17 12 11 9 7 5 3 Panther 75 mm 18 7 6 5 4 - - Jagdpanther 88 mm 18 12 11 9 7 5 3 Heavy 20 mm 12 3 2 1 - - - armd. car Light 20 mm 10 3 2 1 - - - armd. car Half-track MG 11 - - - - - - Lorry, truck or car Soviet 45mm ATG Soviet 57mm ATG PAK 40 ATG German 88mm (AA) - 6 - - - - - - 45 mm - 5 4 3 - - - 57 mm - 6 5 4 - - - 75 mm - 7 6 5 4 - - 88 mm - 12 11 9 7 5 3